Autumn in San Francisco
by desi393
Summary: episode 9 of my Next Generation series. Young girls are being turned into dust by a powerful new demon.
1. Dust to Dust

Episode 9

Disclaimer: I own nothing

(X)

"Leave me alone!" Came the feeble cries from the elderly woman.

The figure strode closer, hesitated, feeding off his victim's fear.

"What do you want?" She cried painfully, pathetically, her heart racing inside her frail chest.

"To say 'Goodbye'," was the taunting answer. He reached out a hand touching the old woman's shoulder. Instantly she shrank into herself. The lines carved into her face became more pronounced, her frailty gladdened him. She seemed to age a decade a second, the moisture evaporating from her skin, leaving her nothing but a dried up husk which soon crumpled into dust.

The demon wiped his hands against each other, "Ashes to ashes…" as the wind carried her away.

(X)

Chris slapped the morning paper onto the table in front of his brother Wyatt.

"Did you see this?" He asked then continued without waiting for an answer, "This is the fourth disappearance this week." He raked his fingers wildly through his hair. "These are young woman…like our cousins or our sister."

"I have read the paper, the sensible online version, why do you want to mess with having to fold and unfold…never mind." The brothers had a long established argument about the benefits of a newspaper vs. reading the same articles online. Each stood firm and wouldn't bend to the other's will. Chris was old fashioned at heart; he liked classic cars and newspaper ink. Wyatt was all in favor of progress; he favored reading online and drove an electric car. "Those women are all missing from areas that our sister and cousins know better than to be in."

"So that makes it ok?" Chris asked hotly, fury sparking his green eyes.

"No. That's not what I meant. I meant it's fairly common for the neighborhood. Which still doesn't make it ok, but it also doesn't make it demonic. Regular human type bad guys doing bad guy type things."

"So, we do nothing?"

"We can't vanquish humans, Chris." Wyatt reminded his little brother sadly.

The ringing of the video phone interrupted the brothers.

"Answer," called Chris.

"Hey, are you boys up for a little demon hunting?" Parker asked.

"Absolutely," Chris answered without pause.

"Wait. Isn't there a story?" Wyatt asked his cousin.

"There always is," Parker sighed. "Palmer had a premonition…about those missing girls."

"Be right up," Wyatt said as he grabbed Chris. Wyatt had learned how to tk himself somewhere other than where he was. It wasn't orbing, shimmering, blinking or beating but so far the brothers weren't sure what to call it, and Wyatt had shot down Chris' suggestion of calling his new power 'beaming', as in 'Beam me up, Scotty' from the ancient sci-fi Star Trek. Sometimes Chris' trivia knowledge was amazing.

The two appeared inside Parker and Pace's loft two floors above their own. Chris shook off Wyatt's hand with a glare. He still didn't know how Wyatt did his trick and having to resort to 'holding hands' a la Victoria and Samantha irritated him to no end, but he did admit that it sure beat the stairs.

Parker grinned, "And yet you pay for a gym membership." He shook his head. "Palmer saw one of those girls age before his eyes and crumble to dust."

"'Regular bad guys'?" Chris asked his brother, "Now can we get our vanquish on?"

"Absolutely," Wyatt agreed.

(X)


	2. Dan's House?

"I have the best news," Paige tittered excitedly as she entered Priscilla Bennett's rented house.

Priscilla stared at her friend in bemusement.

"Aren't you going to ask?" Without pausing for Priscilla's response, she eagerly continued. "I know of a house that's on the market." She said in a sing song voice fairly bouncing in excitement. Still not attempting to breathe in her enthusiastic rush, "The house the other side of Piper is for sale!" She squealed with a broad grin.

"Dan's house?" Priscilla asked.

"Dan?" Paige frowned for a moment, "Oh, the neighbor Piper once dated? Yep, the very same." She gave a self deprecating laugh, "I keep forgetting that you're from an alternate reality. There's really a lot of similarities, huh? I mean, except for the fact that demons rule and my sisters and I are…" Paige drew her finger across her throat and stuck her tongue out of the side of her mouth.

Priscilla's lips twitched in amusement, "Yeah, except for that."

Returning to her previous topic, Paige asked, "Isn't that great? I mean I know that you're picky, but neighborhoods don't get much better than mine. My sisters and I will be nearby, it's always nice to have friends in the neighborhood, and we come built in."

Priscilla laughed, "Paige, you don't have to work so hard to convince me. I absolutely love the idea."

"Really?" Paige could barely contain her excitement as she threw her arms around her friend and gave her a hug. "That is so great! This may sound kind of hokey but I really like the idea of having you so close. I mean, I love my sisters, I couldn't have asked for better, but, as far as friends go, you're the best."

Priscilla was touched, "Thank you, Paige. That means a lot to me." Paige could see the tell tale moistness in Priscilla's eyes and knew that her friend meant it.

"So, wanna go see a house?" Paige winked.

"Oh," Priscilla nodded, "Absolutely."


	3. Silent Witness

"What exactly did you see, Palmer?" Wyatt asked his, mostly unknown to the rest of the family, cousin.

Palmer answered, "I saw a young woman being drained of her youth."

"Like Javna?" Chris asked. His Mom and Aunts had vanquished the vitality thief early in their Charmed career.

Palmer nodded, "Yeah, but not quite. I mean he drains them but as far as I could see it doesn't make him any younger."

"Would you recognize him?" Chris asked.

Palmer leveled his older cousin with a 'duh' stare.

Wyatt called, "Book!" The consecrated, blessed, clone to the original Book of Shadows, which remained in its place of honor in the Halliwell manor attic, orbed into his hands.

"Here," he handed the large sepia toned book to Palmer. "See if he's in here."

Palmer took the book and sat on the couch, quickly starting to rifle through the pages. Shaking his head at each negative page, he continued, "I saw the vitality flow from his victim to him…I felt it." Palmer, like his Aunt Phoebe, who remained unaware that she was his aunt, had the power of premonition. His powers, as the next generation of Halliwell witches had learned, were enhanced from the Charmed generation. His visions were more detailed, he could call them at will, most of the time, and he seemed to be a part of them, an invisible witness. He could smell the air, feel the breeze, it was as if he were actually present. But as real as the grass felt under his feet and the sun that shined on his face, he was not there, he could do nothing in his visions but watch. It frustrated the young male witch in the extreme to bear witness to such atrocities as he had seen and be unable to act at once. He never ignored a vision. Being a silent witness did not sit well with Prue's son.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Sorry that it's taken so long to update, computer problems. All of my saved stories got wiped out... Thanks for hanging in there.


	4. Not in the Book?

Palmer sat on the couch in his brothers' loft. His older two brothers, Parker and Pace, had moved two floors above Wyatt and Chris a few weeks earlier. It was different to be so near family; in Palmer's reality the only family left was their immediate relatives. Piper had died when Shax attacked the sisters. Phoebe had died giving birth to a demonic baby, care of her ex husband Cole- who had been inhabited by the essence of the Source at the time of conception. Both of those deaths had taken place before his own birth, so he had no memory of the Power of Three, or any experience with a large extended family. Paige's death the previous year had spurred the family into fleeing their reality. Luckily, Palmer's eldest brother, Parker, was able to teleport himself and others into different realities. Part of his power was to 'know' what was different in each reality, which helped the family to adjust. Unfortunately, Palmer's mother, Prue, was hiding behind a glamour and an assumed name and was unwilling to let her arrival endanger her sisters. For this reason, most of the family had no idea that Palmer and his family were related to them. Thus far, only Wyatt and Chris knew the truth and the five men hoped that between them subtly working on Prue/Priscilla Bennett they'd be able to get her to agree to let the rest of the massive clan in on the secret, to convince her that her fears for their safety were unfounded. His newly found cousins were finding out what the 'Bennett' boys had known forever, Prue Halliwell-Trudeau was a remarkably stubborn woman!

Shaking his head ruefully at his mother's behavior he started focusing on the book in his lap. He flipped through the familiar book. After all, his mother, as the last surviving Halliwell sister, had inherited the book and, of course, it alone of all their possessions was irreplaceable. Unlike his cousins here, who only recently acquired their powers when magic returned, Palmer and his brothers had fought demons with their mom all their lives, and were infinitely familiar with the book. That's not to say that Prue didn't want to protect her children just as much as her sisters did, she just wasn't given as much opportunity. The reversal of deaths, hers and Andy's for Piper, Phoebe and Paige, hadn't been the only difference in her reality; the balance of good and evil had shifted too much and demons had literally taken over her world. As a result, any who could fight did. No one was given a choice; those with power were constant targets. Having grown up being a target, Palmer never let it affect him, he shrugged it off, but he could never shrug off the pain of innocents.

"He's not in here," he informed the waiting men.

"Wait. What do you mean? Demons are **always** in the book," Wyatt informed his younger cousin.

"Not always," was the response from Chris, Parker, Pace and Palmer simultaneously. Chris chuckled and continued, "The only demons in the book are ones that our ancestors, or mothers, have come across.

"Hey, you ever notice how many of those demons was a one-of-a-kind?" Palmer quizzed. Pace nudged him with his elbow but Palmer continued, "What? You don't think it's strange that if there's only one of that demon, and there's a vanquishing spell and/or potion, why weren't they just vanquished? Why put 'em in the book?"

"Maybe the person who put the spell in the book wasn't powerful enough to perform the spell," Pace answered.

"Or maybe it was put in by the daughter of the witch who died trying to vanquish it," Parker added quietly. The eldest brother was a bit more battle scarred and weary than the others. He was also a plainspoken man who never minced words and usually said what others were thinking.

"So, spell on the fly?" Wyatt asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure we can come up with something appropriate," Chris grinned wickedly.


	5. Unwelcome Revelation

Two sets of brothers stood in the alley.

"This is where it happened?" Chris asked his younger cousin. Palmer nodded to confirm. "So, you have premonitions, Pace is like my mom…on speed…and Parker can move himself through…what exactly?"

Parker shrugged, "I don't understand the physics of it." He had a thought. "Chris, look at your shirt," he commanded.

"Mmm, ok, what am I looking at?"

"The threads. Look closely. See how they weave, how the shirt is made?"

"Yeah." Chris looked puzzled.

"Alright, well this reality is one thread. Go in one direction and you travel to the past…"

" 'Cept Park doesn't usually do that. Can't change history and given how much he'd like to it's better not to be tempted." Palmer interjected.

Parker continued, "If you go in the other direction…"

"You go to the future!" Exclaimed Chris, catching on.

"'Cept he usually won't go more than a few minutes in because since the future hasn't happened yet there's no way of being sure where you'll end up." Palmer again interjected.

Parker looked at Wyatt, "Does it ever bother you that you can't finish a sentence?" Wyatt shrugged and grinned. "Notice how all of the threads weave in and out of each other? Well, the parallel lines are other realities and the crossing threads would be my portals. Simplified."

"Cool," Chris nodded. "Anything else power-wise to add to the arsenal?"

"Arsenal?" Pace echoed.

"Against the Source," Chris clarified.

"Phobos isn't the one doing this," Pace reminded his overzealous cousin with a wave to indicate the alley where the girl had been attacked.

"I know that. But, someday, we'll be facing him. We need to be prepared."

"We need to focus on this battle Chris, this demon." Wyatt reminded his younger brother.

"Besides Phobos isn't a real threat…." Palmer said and abruptly snapped his mouth shut when he saw the glares coming at him from his two brothers.

"What do you mean, he's not a threat? He's the Source, the leader of the demons…" Chris' voice trailed off and he cocked a brow waiting for an explanation.

"He just means that as long as Beau is in charge Phobos won't come after us." Pace answered shooting another irritated glare to his brother.

"What are you not saying?" Chris demanded, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

Parker squared his shoulders, "When Aunt Paige was killed Phobos was furious. It was Phobos' dad who sent the Dark-lighter after her."

"Phobos' _dad_? Are we missing something?" Wyatt asked, "Why would Phobos' dad have it in for the Halliwells?" He turned to Chris, "Why can't our alternate reality cousins ever just tell the complete story, there's no future consequence or anything, right?" He half-teased his cousins, the other half was consternated; why couldn't they just explain themselves and stop being so damn cryptic!

This time Pace answered, "Because Phobos' father is Cole Turner."

Chris' eyes widened, "But the sisters vanquished him!"

"In our reality too, Chris. The Charmed Ones vanquished Cole when he was the Source. They sent Cole to the demonic wasteland and unknowingly set the essence of The Source loose."

"He went into the most powerful evil in the room," Wyatt stated grimly, finally understanding his cousins' reticence. "Aunt Phoebe's baby, the Seer had been giving her 'evil tonic' for the baby so that neither of them would feel conflicted about which side they were on."

"But the Seer took the baby and couldn't handle his powers. She and the baby were destroyed," Chris argued, refusing to believe.

"In your reality, but Phobos is from ours," Parker reminded Chris gently.

"What else was different in your reality?" Chris demanded, wanting all the answers out in the open.

"Cole returned from the wasteland- unvanquishable- just in time for his son's birth. The baby was too strong and evil; he took all of Aunt Phoebe's strength. She died giving birth to him."

"I always wondered why you never said _how _she died," Wyatt admitted quietly, processing the information.

"There is no way that guy is Phoebe's son. He's too old!"

"He would be if he'd aged like a human and not a baby with all the power of evil."

The five men shared uneasy looks.

"No one tells Phoebe that Phobos is her son!" Chris demanded.


	6. Textbook Source

"What do you mean, you 'feel connected' to the Source?" Mel gaped at her cousin.

"Not 'The Source', I feel a connection with Phobos," Peyton defended herself.

"The vessel?"

"Don't call him that!" Peyton snapped. In a softer tone she continued, "I dreamt of him for months. He was a child. He told me his name was Beau and he was so isolated, so lonely…" Peyton's pretty brown eyes filled with tears that she furiously wiped away, "Can you imagine what it's like to be a child and having to share your body, mind, thoughts, everything with an ageless evil power?"

"I can't imagine being a man and having to do the same," Mel conceded. "I saw how much it pained him to have to take the power back."

Peyton flinched at the reminder. On Halloween, Barbas, the demon of fear, had played on both her mother's and her fear. Phoebe's fear of mothering evil and Peyton's fear of being evil had resulted in the essence of the Source taking over Peyton briefly. She had been saved when a freed-from-The-Source's-influence Phobos had willingly returned to being the vessel. "I don't know why I'm even talking about this."

"Because you need to, Honey. I'll try to be less judgmental," Mel promised.

"I felt connected to him before Halloween…" Peyton struggled for a moment looking for words.

"Maybe because you're an empath?" Mel tried to help by supplying them.

"Maybe," replied Peyton, knowing that was not the reason but still struggling internally with her secret.

"Oh, Sweetie, don't feel guilty!"

"How'd you know?"

"Because you can project your feelings and I just got a staggering amount of guilt thrown at me."

Peyton nodded, she still had trouble controlling her more passionate feelings. "Mel, you don't understand."

"I'm trying to."

"You're right. I'm sorry." She took a deep breath. "Having The Source in me I got what Phobos called 'Source Memory', it's how the essence of the Source establishes control in his host. It has awareness, an id. I can remember most of what it remembers. I know how it got to be the upper level demon with half a face, how he was vanquished by the Charmed Ones and Cole, Mom's ex-husband. I know how it inhabited Cole and took over, corrupted Cole until he, too, was vanquished. I know how he moved on again."

"Chris will be thrilled! He says we need more information on The Source and you're like a walking, talking text book!" Mel chattered excitedly, "Although, I'm not sure exactly how knowing how he got into each of his vessels is much as far as weapons against him go." Mel thought aloud, "It does maybe help us avoid the same fate." Mel hurried out of Peyton's room, "I've got to go call Chris!"

Peyton wore an anguished expression that Melinda, in her excitement, never noticed.


	7. Celebration

Paige and her husband Henry were eating lunch with Priscilla and her husband Drew. The two couples chatted like old friends.

"I have to say that it's nice to have another mortal around who knows about all this magic stuff," Henry confided.

"Right back atcha, Henry. It's such a large part of your life and there are very few people in the 'inner circle'."

"We can't expose magic," Priscilla reminded her husband.

He smiled at her, "I'm well-trained, Pru…scilla," he hurried on, "But it is a relief to not have to watch and weigh every word with someone who's as normal as me."

"Normal!" Priscilla snorted, her blue eyes twinkling.

"He's right. I mean I got a little used to it…"

"After he fell off the Golden Gate Bridge," Paige supplied.

"Oh, Paige, you didn't?"

"Yep," Paige nodded, "I did. I was so intent on sharing everything so it would be more familiar for him and less strange."

"And then a few years in, with very few freak outs from me, I might add, and active magic is mostly pft."

"Pft?" Drew asked.

"Um hm," Paige confirmed. "We knew that the underworld needed to regroup. They pretty much guaranteed that we wouldn't see much of them, but our children would. We didn't notice at first when our active powers started to weaken and then pft."

"We didn't have any 'pft' in our world." Drew stated, envy tingeing his voice.

"Magic never died, just good Witches," Priscilla confirmed.

Paige was instantly contrite, "Oh, Honey. I am so sorry. Today is supposed to be a celebration."

"It is, Paige," Priscilla assured her friend. "After all the loss we suffered, I can honestly say that today IS a celebration, and there are no other people that I'd rather share it with."

"Having one of those everything-is-perfect-right-now-please-world-stop moments?" Paige quizzed.

"Absolutely," Priscilla grinned broadly.

"I remember her as being less wordy," Drew grinned at Paige.

"What? I was mute in your reality before I was dead?" Paige quipped.

"No. Just very dedicated to the good fight. You hated wasting energy on nonessentials," Priscilla said patting Paige's hand.

"…Like conversation." Drew added with a twinkle. "I like you like this. It's what I always wished for you."

"So you were close to the sisters in your reality?" Henry asked, leaning forward in interest. He liked the other couple and was intrigued by them. Priscilla and Drew rarely satisfied anyone's curiosity; instead they remained very tight lipped on the differences in realities.

"I loved Paige like a sister," Drew confirmed. "It was so hard for her, finding her sisters so soon after Piper's death. It was so unfair. Paige should have had a chance to meet Piper and vice versa. Then, losing Phoebe and the Power of Three…"

"We helped when we could," Priscilla said, starting to shy from the subject.

"I forgot that Shax killed Piper in your reality. I guess that meant in your world that I knew Prue." She ended her sentence in an almost question, biting her lip indecisively. "Did she like me?"

Priscilla's shyness instantly faded, "She adored you! At first, she protected you because you were an innocent and it took a bit for her to thaw towards the idea of you being her sister. The thing about Prue is that she was all about control and nurturing. She'd helped Grams raise Piper and Phoebe. With Piper gone and Phoebe going to school and being involved with Cole, Prue's maternal instincts were largely ignored. And then there was Paige." Priscilla grinned, "A shy, somewhat awkward girl thirsty for family, starving for love and attention. You helped Prue through her grief and she loved you for you, her baby sister."

Paige's big brown eyes were brimming with tears as she grasped her friend's hand. "Thank you," she whispered quietly, simply. Priscilla understood and nodded in acceptance.


	8. Secrets and Goodbyes

The Halliwell and Bennett men returned to their homes. The Bennetts were to come up with a potion, the Halliwells with a spell.

Chris' cell rang; he answered when he saw it was Melinda calling. No matter what, his sister took precedence; at least until he knew she wasn't in any danger. "Hey, Mel."

"Chris, I need you to come to the manor, I have something important to tell you about the Source," she confided.

"I'll be right there," he replied grimly. He hung up chanting 'please don't let Mel know the truth'. While he adored his baby sister, when it came to secrets, she really took after Aunt Phoebe, in that it was almost impossible for her to keep one, and he hoped that she wasn't in on the one he'd just learned.

After Chris left the loft, Wyatt remained behind to work on the spell. He was having little luck, as was indicated by the many crumpled up papers that littered the floor near his feet. He was relieved from his task when the doorbell rang. Gratefully he hurried to answer it.

His girlfriend stood on the other side of the door; he welcomed her with a hug and a quick kiss. "Bree, I'm glad it's you." He pulled her gently inside.

She saw the litter and raised her brow, "Trying to write a spell, Wyatt?"

He ran his hands through his hair, "Yeah," he admitted.

"Do you need any help?" She offered.

"I'd be happy for some, but first," he pulled her into his arms for a more lingering kiss. He noticed her lack of response immediately; he pulled back, frowning into her face, "What's wrong?"

"Maybe we should sit down," she suggested awkwardly.

Wyatt sat, still looking into her face.

She took a deep breath, stealing herself for this conversation. "Wyatt, I need you to listen. No interruptions, declarations, nothing, can you do that?"

"Of course," he answered, growing concerned.

"I love you, Wyatt," she shrugged prettily, "At least, I _think _I do. I love your family and how, despite everything, they've been welcoming. I even love it that Chris has his own pet-name for me..." Chris, much to Wyatt's chagrin, called Bree, Demon-girl. "It makes me feel like I belong. That I'm safe and cared for." She saw that he was about to interrupt and she forestalled him by placing her fingertips lightly against his lips, "Please, Wyatt, this is so hard for me," she pleaded, tears welling up in her beautiful brown eyes. "I have to go," the tears spilled over, "I need time to learn to be human, learn about my father." Bree was a daughter of Lilith, the result of her mother seducing her Witch-born father. Lilith, like her succubi daughters, killed after mating. Unlike most of her daughters, who did it because they 'had' to, Lilith killed her lovers because she thought it was fun. "I need to know that I can trust myself and that being intimate with you won't kill you." Bree hoped that since she was different from her sisters that she wouldn't have the compulsion to kill after sex, but since she was unsure, she and Wyatt had been very careful to keep their relationship chaste, or at least as close to chaste as possible. "I need to experience a little of the world so that I can be sure of who I am and what I want." Tears were streaming down her pretty face. "I really think I love you, but I can't ask you to wait. I don't have that right. I will miss you." She kissed his cheek, her tears on his face. She rose to leave. Wyatt rose as well. "Please don't say anything," Bree pleaded.

Wyatt complied, instead of speaking with his mouth he spoke with his touch. He pulled her into his embrace and kissed her for all he was worth. When they broke apart, both were panting slightly. "I love you, Bree. Go. See what the world thinks of you and what you think of the world." He looked at her, tears glistening in his eyelashes, "I will be here when you get back."


	9. Ye Gods!

The three sisters were gathered around the dining room table at Piper's manor. Phoebe closed her eyes, silently calling for her husband. Coop beat in moments later.

"Hi, Baby," he said in greeting, bending down to kiss her forehead. "Piper, Paige," he nodded to each of his sisters-in-law in turn. "Why do I get the feeling that I was summoned for something other than your need to add to my 'Honey-Do' list?"

Phoebe smiled at her husband; she patted the chair next to her, "Have a seat." He complied with her request and looked expectantly at the sisters.

Phoebe spoke first, "I want to apologize. I feel incredibly naïve and self-centered that I never asked you about your job." She shrugged and spoke more defensively, "I mean, I _know_ you're a cupid…it just never occurred to me that you might have a…_**Boss**_. I always assumed it was more ethereal than that."

"So, you want to know about the Gods." He stated with a sigh.

Phoebe rushed in, "We won't summon one- ever. Promise." She gave him a toothy grin before a frown reclaimed her face, "I really am sorry. I just took it for granted that I knew YOU. I guess I should have asked more questions."

"Phoebe," Coop said softly, staring intently into her eyes, "You do know ME. Stop feeling guilty," he commanded, "I never invited work related questions."

"Well, we're all asking now," Paige inserted.

"I understand that you're wary but since this…Discord seems to be making appearances," Piper trailed off realizing that this subject was fairly taboo for her brother-in-law, but then she continued in her no-nonsense manner, "We need to know more about the Gods. Chris told us once that the Olympian Gods were mortals who were given God-like powers?" She phrased the statement as a question to invite Coops cooperation.

"At one point in time, yes. Twelve mortals were given the powers of the Gods; they were given them from the Gods. I'll just say that the Gods have long since decided that any true battles fought on Earth should be fought without them. A moment of wisdom, I assure you. The humans who had those powers are where a lot of the old myths come from." He looked at each of the powerful witches in front of him, hoping to impart this one fact, "The Gods are THE Ultimate Powers." Then to somewhat change the subject and allow that most important of facts to sink in, "Do you remember when you girls conjured 'Mr. Right'?" He smiled.

"Um hm," Piper and Paige fairly drooled in unison. Each had had their own 'Mr. Right', although Paige had spent quite a bit more time with hers.

Phoebe shared a knowing grin with Coop.

"Well, Eros conjured me and the other cupids much the same way."

"So, you're Eros' idea of 'Mr. Right'?" Paige quipped.

Coop frowned so suddenly that it actually shocked the three sisters. Coop was a man in love with life and he had frowned so rarely in the twenty years that they had known him that to see one now was almost as scary as facing a demon!

"I do not mean to imply that. Eros would erase me for the insult." He bit out. "This is why I shouldn't be talking to humans about the Gods, you don't understand the consequences. They are not as forgiving as the Elders. They don't NEED you the way the Elders do. You're the Charmed Ones and allowed a certain amount of pride and, sometimes, foolishness, but the Gods will not accept it." He smiled gently, he hated the necessity of chastising these three women that he loved, especially the one he adored. He hoped that his words had gotten through to the headstrong threesome. "You don't insult the Gods," he spoke more calmly, "Eros needed workers, so he conjured them. Unlike a being that is conjured by a witch, I am immortal and I have a soul. I just never had a childhood."

"So you're not Eros' son?" Phoebe asked to be certain.

"If I were his true son I would never have been allowed _anywhere_ near you." He frowned again, "Our children would have been too powerful in that case."

"Speaking of…those 'old myths' about the Gods seducing mortals…?" Paige questioned with what she hoped was a respectful enough tone.

Coop, an immortal cupid who had pretty much seen it all, actually blushed! "Those are true." He cleared his throat, "It used to happen more often." He sighed and continued; he may as well finish with this line of questioning since he was only giving credence to the rumors. "Sometimes a mortal would interest them. They would take human form and seduce the object of their 'affection'; if, that person were married they might assume the form of their spouse. Demi-Gods weren't…common, but not as rare as they are now. There is some rumor that Witches are the result of such unions. They argue that if that were the case the first generation would be the strongest, but there is also argument that the power grows stronger over time."

"Why are Demi-Gods such a rarity?" Paige asked, very much interested. In her quest to discover herself and her Wiccan heritage, she had avidly studied anything that resembled witchcraft.

"Having Demi-Gods around can sometimes prove disastrous to the world, it also makes it harder to keep magic a secret." Coop answered readily.

"Whoa, go back to 'takes the form of the spouse'," Piper's mind had latched onto that one unpleasant thought and she demanded satisfying answers! Her eyebrow cocked warningly, "There are some mornings when Leo is exceptionally chipper!" She frowned, "Just who has been putting a smile on my husband's face?"

Coop laughed, "No one," he chuckled again- as if even the Gods would try to come between Piper and Leo! Then, seeing the still serious expression on her face, he sobered. "The Fates are considered by some to be the true rulers of the Gods – even Zeus bows to their will. Those three sisters decreed that your family is to remain…unmolested. A child who could be conceived from such a union would be an Epic Demi-God, one to rival Hercules in legend."

"Yeah yeah yeah," Piper waved irritatedly, "But _Leo_ isn't from my family line…" she arched her brow again as if daring Coop to argue.

"No, he's not," Coop agreed, "Anyone from your family is off limits. I promise you," he assured Piper, hoping to settle her mind. If he couldn't, he feared for Leo's sake!

Just then Leo walked in whistling. His grin was broad and inviting, merriment twinkling in his hazel eyes, "Hi everyone! What's going on?"

"Why so happy Leo?" Piper asked.

"I promise you," Coop insisted.

Poor Leo felt confused and very unsafe, until Piper smiled.

"Sit down, Leo. Coop was just explaining the Gods to us." Piper invited.

Leo shot Coop a sharp and questioning look.

"Just what they need," Coop assured his brother-in-law.

Piper hadn't missed the look, "What's going on?" She asked with her dangerous half-smile.

"Nothing," Leo shrugged disarmingly, and then, knowing his wife as well as he did, "It's just that they're my old bosses," he cast his eyes heavenward, "bosses. The Elders answer to Them, All magical beings, in one form or another, answer to Them."

"Ok," Piper nodded. She turned to Coop, "What is it that we need to know?"

"The Gods, at least the major ones, have all the powers, some you've never even heard of and some that will never be seen on the earthly plane. Of course each has their powers in varying degrees, Hades is very bad at inspiring love or lust, except for, of course, in Persephone, Aphrodite isn't much inclined to incite battle…" he trailed off, knowing the sisters understood, "Minor Gods, like Discord are sometimes actually Demi-Gods who could not remain on Earth without serious repercussions, others were just never worshipped enough to be considered a primary deity. These Gods still have a lot of power. Discord, for instance, could obliterate the entire family before anyone could even twitch, and that while she's on this realm and infinitely weaker than she is in her own."

"Not that we'd challenge any of the Gods," Paige clarified, "but, if we called upon the powers of our ancestors…"

"You could call upon the powers of your ancestors, figure out a way to call on the power of your descendants- which we all know would not be an inconsiderable amount of power given that we've all seen proof that each generation is stronger than the last- and you still wouldn't come close to giving even the most minor of the deities a scratch." He said with finality.

"Oh," said Paige, processing this information and trying to use it for the Charmed Ones goals.

"We aren't planning on summoning or challenging any God," Piper clarified again.

"We just thought that since Phobos, or rather, The Source, is somewhat related to them, knowing more could help us," Phoebe stated quietly a sinking feeling in her stomach. "We need to know how strong the Essence is. I also want to see if there is a way that we can separate the essence from his vessel, Phobos," Phoebe explained quietly.

A/N A rather long chapter for Desi, hope none of you is bored. Trust me this chapter has more importance in my grand scheme of things than you can realize now….Plus I really enjoyed that little bit of jealousy from Piper.


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